The Ring Ouzel
by gvae-Fullmetal-94
Summary: They say on the brink of death, you see your life flash before your eyes. I was never quite sure that was true, and despite all of my efforts, it seemed like I was determined to find out. "Like hell I'm going to just leave all of you down there to die." I hissed. Oh yeah, just determined. Rob/OC in later chapters and a bunch of brotherly Roy in his own way. Rated T to be safe.
1. First Entry: Memories

**gvae-94 here! **

**This is my first story here, so I hope I didn't make any typos -.-'. This is sort of the prolog of how Page became a hero, focusing mainly on her relationship with her uncle and the Young Justice team (particularly a red archer, a bird, and a spandex-clad speedster).**

**Page is one of my many OC's, so she's up for change whenever I'd like. And right now, I'm feeling the Green Lantern vibe. I've always had a fondness for Hal Jordan (it may possibly stem from my Dad's favorite DC character being Hal, but who knows), and I've recently gotten into the DC multiverse heavily. Mainly the Young Justice cartoon. Oh creative lisences, how we love thee. **

**But this will be a fic circling that timeline as close as I can. One good thing came of the time-skip between seasons: room for fanfiction! It's almost as if they had us in mind. Well, thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Page. The rest belong to DC.**

* * *

Diary of a Page:

They say on the brink of death, you see your life flash before your eyes. I was never quite sure that was true, and despite all of my efforts, it seemed like I was determined to find out. You may be thinking, 'Hey, why are you trying to die?' Well, I'm not really. I just like to put myself in those positions. It gets my blood pumping, my heart racing, and my mind thinking. Why wouldn't I want that happening? Maybe the 'death' side-affect might have something to do with it, but I crave that feeling it gives you to dance with the reaper, not knowing if you'll win or not. Don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of what normal folk would call 'near-death experiences', but those never made me see my childhood.

Until a particularly nasty event that just recently happened, I've never given much thought on the matter. But now that I think about it, in all of those 'situations', I've always thought about never seeing my family, or even my friends again. Of course, it had to come down to this in order to get my mind thinking.

**...**

"…Evacuation…Not…Drill…Red…Vacu…Tion…"

The intercom sputtered out into white noise, adding to the flashing red-lights. The entire factory was long since abandoned. When the walls started to shake and the ceilings began to crack, everyone felt the better urge to leave, much to my content. I ran around the corner, slipping on a fallen piece plaster and almost face-planting into a wall as another tremor shook the place.

_"Will you sit still?" The brunette said sharply. _

_The question was directed to the small girl jumping in her seat. The girl looked towards her mother, making her brown doe eyes as big as she could possibly make them. The woman simply rolled her eyes with a frustrated sigh and directed her gaze back to the center of the large tent they were currently under._

"_Oh, let her be excited, Martha. She's never been to the circus before. Plus, Haly's rarely ever comes to Coast City." _

_The girl turned to her left, her smile spreading into a grin. "Uncle Hal! Did you see that elephant? They made it stand on a tiny ball!"_

_The man was at least three times the young girl's size, seeing as she was smaller than the rest of the children her age. He easily lifted her off the uncomfortable plastic chair and into his lap. Doe eyes met bright green eyes. _

"_I did see, birdy. What about the clowns? With their funny make-up?"_

_The fear in the girl's eyes blocked out all of her former excitement. She shook her head. "No! Their make-up is what makes them so scary!"_

_Her uncle just laughed before pulling her into a hug, at the same time, letting a man slip passed. He sat down in the seat his daughter had been occupying, a hotdog and cotton candy in his hand. He had shaggy brown hair and identical brown doe eyes as the little girl on his brother's lap. The girl quickly snatched the cotton candy from his hand before he could let out a syllable._

"_Geezus, Page. You could have taken my arm off." He joked with a smile. His wife had other plans._

"_Jack, really. She shouldn't have any sugar."_

"_Don't worry about it, Martha. It's just cotton candy."_

"_Do you even realize that cotton candy is basically just crystalized sugar?"_

_While her parents continued to bicker, the girl's attention was adverted by her uncle pointing to the ringmaster in the middle of the tent. He was gesturing to the tightrope and swings as his voice boomed around the audience. _

"_Ladies and gentlemen! The moment you have all awaited is finally here. For the last act of the night is about to be upon us! If you would care to look above me, you will see three amazing acrobats."_

_And like every other eight-year-old in the tent, the little girl obeyed._

"_The father: John." A spotlight appeared, illuminating a tall man waving to the audience. He had cropped black hair and light blue eyes. _

"_The mother: Mary." Another spotlight appeared. This time a woman was standing next to the man. She was a good foot shorter than the man but also had the same black hair, although her eyes were a dark green. She waved as well._

"_And the son: Richard." The last spotlight appeared. Standing on the other side of the tent, on the other platform from his parents, a small boy stood, grinning from ear to ear. His shaggy black hair came just above his deep blue eyes. Instead of waving, he gave a small salute before giving the audience a cocky smirk. _

_The adults were wearing the same costume: a red leotard with short green sleeves, tights, and gloves. The son wore a red shirt with green sleeves and gloves, but had on what seemed like green underwear in place of the tights. They all wore green pixy boots and yellow, collared capes that came down to their lower backs._

"_The Flying Grayson's!"_

I dove to the side, avoiding yet another piece of the collapsing ceiling. I pressed myself against the wall, waiting for the dust and dirt to clear, my face in my shoulder. When I looked up, I smirked. The entire ceiling in this room had fallen in, causing parts of the floor I was currently on to collapse into one of the sublevels. I pushed off of the wall and jumped down thru a sizable hole. Rolling out of the fall, I jumped off the desk I'd landed on and ran out the door.

"Has everyone been evacuated from the facility?" A gruff voice asked as if it was a second thought.

I put my hand to my ear and pressed my comm. link before replying. "Yeah, got the last out minutes ago. I'm heading down to you right now."

"Negative. You are to get out now. Rendezvous with the Team."

Without stopping, I laughed. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Out. Now." The voice ordered before continuing. "Robin, how's the city?"

"We've almost got everyone out." A younger voice rang in my ear. "There's just one more trip in the bio-ship and KF and Flash have a few before it's all clear."

"How long?"

"Uh, about two minutes?"

"Good. Wait for Ouzel, then take off."

That made me skid to a stop, my hand resting on a wall to keep my knees from failing. I pressed my link. "What about the rest of the League? All of you down there? There's got to be at least ten of you."

Without any hesitation, he replied. "We need to stay and neutralize Parallax."

"_You know this is entirely your fault." _

_Her voice was shaking with rage. If it wasn't for her husband holding her shoulders, the woman would have to be taken away in handcuffs. She put her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes. The man being accused simply grabbed is niece's hand. The little brunette was lying in a hospital bed, her arm, from her wrist to her shoulder, was in a fresh white cast. She gripped her uncle's hand tightly._

"_It's not Uncle Hal's fault!" The girl protested, but her mother wasn't listening._

"_If you hadn't insisted we take her to that damn circus, she wouldn't have even thought about gymnastics!" She pulled from her husband's grip and stormed over to her brother-in-law. He gave her a warning look as her hands balled into fists. "She never would have broken her arm! She never would have gotten hurt."_

"_It's not his fault! It's not!" The girl shouted. Tears were picking behind her eyes but she wouldn't let them fall in front of her mother._

_Bending and smoothing his niece's hair, the man kissed her forehead and whispered, "Hush, my little birdy."_

_Her uncle let go of her hand and stood, facing his sister-in-law. "I'm sorry Martha, Jack. You're right."_

"_No!"_

"_I know you don't like me. You never have." He smiled softly at the raging woman, his posture relaxed. "I get it. I'll go. You don't have to see me again."_

_The man side-stepped the woman, avoiding his now sobbing niece in doing so. He calmly opened the door and walked out. Even outside he could hear the shrieks and cries of the little girl._

"Affirmative, Batman." Robin's grim voice filled the silence. I gritted my teeth and pushed on, lunging down the stairs.

"Like hell I'm going to just leave all of you down there to die." I hissed.

That didn't have the most promising effect on the caped crusader.

"Don't act like a fool, Ouzel. Get out."

"Why don't you come up here and make me, huh Batsy?" I growled back. But just like my earlier comment, it had no effect on him.

"Flash, do you hear me?" Batman was pissed, but I didn't care. I was almost there. And thankfully, Robin answered. The boy's voice rang through my head like a lifesaver.

"Flash doesn't have his comm."

But by that point, I wasn't paying any attention to the angry bat and extremely tense bird in my ear. I struggled to open the door before I collapsed like the walls around me.

_"But I'm ten now!"_

_ The girl's dark brown hair brushed her shoulders as she turned her head to follow her mother down the hallway. She rushed behind her._

_ "It's been two whole years. I'm a much better gymnast, and I can fight if I have too. Plus, Coast City isn't nearly as dangerous as Gotham." _

_ The woman came to a stop in front of a closed door. She turned to her daughter, a slight frown on her face. The girl stood her ground. Locking her gaze with her mother's, she continued._

_ "I want to see Uncle Hal."_

_ "Page." _

_Her mother sighed. She covered her eyes with the hand not holding a bunch of paperwork she had to organize. "You don't understand. He's dangerous for a little girl to be around. Plus, I'm working." She gestured down the hall before turning and opening the door. "We're at the office right now, and you should be getting home."_

_ "Uncle Hal is not dangerous!" The girl plopped into the chair across the big desk sitting in the middle of the room. "And I can get there by myself. I'm ten, Mom. That's practically a teenager!"_

_ Her mother had to suppress a laugh. After a few minutes of looking at her determined girl, she sighed. "Alright, but you have to call me the minute you get there, and just for a few hours. I'll get you before dinner."_

_ "Thank you!" With that, she flipped over the back of the chair, landed in a roll, and set off down the hall without stopping for the slightest._

"Ouzel! What are you doing here?"

I looked up at the voice. Green Arrow was standing in front of me, his hand on my upper arm, making sure I didn't fall. Behind him was a sight.

The subbasement was almost completely destroyed: there were clouds of dust floating above everyone's heads; half of the ceiling was caved in, causing most of everything else to be broken or crushed; and League members were everywhere.

Hawkgirl was kneeling beside Hawkman, her hand in his. Black Canary was tending to Aquaman next to the couple. Captain Marvel and Red Tornado were standing next to Red Arrow, who was leaning against the bottom half of a pillar. They were the closest to the door where the green archer and I were standing. When Green Arrow spoke, his red-haired equivalent turned to us. A look of confusion crossed his face before turning into sympathy.

In the center of the room, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman were talking in a circle. While the two practically indestructible beings seemed relatively unharmed, the latter was visibly hurt. Most wouldn't notice, but having worked alongside him multiple times, I could tell he was favoring his left.

But they weren't where my attention was.

_"Guess who!"_

_ The girl yelled as she opened the door to an all-too familiar apartment. No one came to greet her though, causing her to venture in. She silently closed the door behind her before taking off her sneakers and padding softly down the hallway. When she came to the spare bedroom she knew doubled as a home office for her uncle, she didn't hesitate to burst thru. _

_ "Uncle Hal!"_

_ But he wasn't there._

_ The girl huffed as she backtracked out into the living area. "And here I pestered Daddy to bring me over for the weekend. Oh well, I'll just have to wait."_

_ She turned the television on. The box turned onto a news channel. The girl instantly beamed, recognizing the reporter. Whenever she was on the screen, they were doing a story on a hero. Sure enough, the next clip they showed was of a flying man with brown hair wearing a white, green, and black suit with a mask. He was glowing green._

_ "Once again, the Green Lantern has stopped tragedy from striking Coast City."_

_ The screen flashed to two more people. One was a tall archer with a blond goatee in a green costume that would make one think of Robin Hood. The second was a shorter, red-haired boy in his late teens. He wore an outfit closer to the Disney version's Robin Hood, yellow hat and all._

_ "With the help of our neighboring town Star City's Green Arrow and is sidekick Speedy, the heroes stopped a series of bank robberies all planned by non-other than-."_

_ The girl muted the sound and paused the news. She zoomed in several times. On the screen was now just a single figure. The Green Lantern, the savoir of Coast City. And he had a particular resemblance to-._

_ "Page?"_

_ The girl quickly clicked the television off with practiced ease. Turning to the voice, she saw a tall man with brown hair and green eyes. She beamed and jumped off the couch to hug him. She pulled away and looked up at him._

_ "Uncle Hal! I got here a little early, but I didn't think you'd mind. Daddy dropped me off. I was getting bored waiting for six. I finished all of my homework and practiced my gymnastics. Mom let me off of practice early today too. You look tired. Are you getting a black eye? Who punched you?" The girl rambled. Her uncle just smiled._

_ "Slow down, little birdy. I am tired." He sat down and she was quickly at his side. "Now, one at a time. You could give Wally a run for his money."_

_ "Who's Wally?"_

_ The man sighed and set his head on the back of the couch, but his smile never left. "Wally is one of my friend from work's nephew."_

_ "From work-work or from _work_." _

_The way his niece spoke made him look up. He paled. In between her slender fingers, was a green ring. _His_ ring. His hand shot to his pants pocket. Nothing. He hadn't even felt her hand in his pocket. She must have taken it when he sat down. He looked at the girl's face. She wore as smug an expression as an eleven-year-old could wear._

"_Page, it's not polite to take things from a person's pocket." He said as he snatched his ring back, slipping it on his finger._

"_Why didn't you tell me you were _the_ Green Lantern? That's so cool!"_

"Ouzel?"

I couldn't tear my eyes from them. Martian Manhunter was kneeling by a man's head, his hands outstretched on either side. Both pairs of eyes were closed. The brunet man was in a green and black costume, his green cape rolled up under his head as a pillow. Just as I tried to take a step forward, a fierce tremor shook the building, making me stumble into Green Arrow. But the tremor didn't stop.

"The building's collapsing. We need to get out." Captain Marvel said while flying over to the center group. Batman turned to him.

"The explosion will occur in seconds, Captain."

My mind went blank for a second before I could comprehend his words properly. Then I was moving.

"_Uncle Hal?"_

_A small voice asked, causing a man to turn sharply, not having heard the front door open and close. A girl, coming up to his waist, had her arms wrapped around her body. He quickly crossed the short distance from his desk. Kneeling down to his niece's level, he pulled her into a tight hug. The little girl was shaking. Her damp hair was falling out of her ponytail and her usually excited brown eyes were dull and apathetic. The baggy blue shirt and black shorts she wore were clinging to her small frame, adding to the depressing sight._

"_What's wrong, my little birdy? Why were you out in the rain?" Her uncle cooed, trying to relax the girl. She sniffed and clung to his neck, burying her face into his shoulder._

"_W-We got a le-etter."_

_The man instantly tensed. He knew his brother had married a woman in the military. And there was nothing wrong with that. He was in the air force himself. But he had thought she was too strict and cold toward his brother, but there was nothing he could say to him. His brother was infatuated with the woman. A year later, they had their first baby. Then he definitely couldn't say anything to him. Five years later, she became a decorated, high-ranking officer. She had devoted all of her time to her work until her daughter had been the victim of bullying in first grade. Now, some would think she was over-reacting, but she proceeded to teach the young girl of only five years how to fight and defend herself. Her husband didn't see a problem with it, and neither did his brother. _

_But he knew one day, after she was called overseas, the happy family would receive a Dear John letter. He just prayed it could have waited until the girl was older, on her own._

"_Daddy, he started to get really mad." The girl had pulled away and was rubbing at her eyes. "He threw the letter down and started hitting things."_

_The man grabbed her shoulders gently, looking intently into her eyes. "Did he hit you?"_

"_No!" She shook her head fiercely. "I read the letter, but when I was done, Daddy had gone to the corner. But he was sitting with his arms around his knees and he was crying. Saying Mom's name."_

_The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it, holding it out to her uncle. "It says- It says that she's dead. It says that Mommy's dead."_

_The man sighed after he skimmed the letter. Lifting the girl and setting her securely on his hip, he set off down the hallway to the front door. "Let's go see your Daddy, my little birdy."_

"Like hell, Batsy." I said again thru gritted teeth. When I fell down next to the unconscious man, I yelled, "Everyone get closer! Now!"

I didn't hesitate to rip the ring off the man's hand. Not having the power anymore, the man's costume faded and shimmered. He was now just a plain brunet man. I shoved the ring on my finger, ignoring the protests and yells. Feeling the power ripple through me, I pulled it and channeled it. I threw my arm up. A bright green light shot up then encased all of us in a green bubble, just in time for fire to burst from the broken ceiling.

"_Dad, where are you going?"_

_The girl was sitting on a couch, a book in her lap. Her father, a relatively tall man, glanced at her as he walked by. Over the past few months, the man had gotten thinner. His clothes were hanging off of him and his face was getting gaunt. But what scared the girl the most was his eyes. Ever since they had received that letter, his eyes had become apathtic. _

"_Out." Her father mumbled. The man let the door swing slowly shut behind him. But the instant it was closed, his daughter was down the hall, running to her room._

_The brunette slammed her door before running to close her curtains, even though no light was shining thru seeing as it was quarter to ten at night. The girl skidded on her knees in front of her bed. She pulled a box from under it. Lifting the cover away, she bit her lip._

_Folded up in the box was a black jumpsuit with white stitching. She quickly stripped and pulled the suit on, followed by black gloves. The girl reached back under the bed and pulled on her boots, bucking them as fast as her shaking fingers could. The last thing she did before leaving was put on her mask. It was a simple black mask she had gotten at a party store, but she improved it. She put white lenses on the eyeholes, covering her eyes. _

"_I really hope I'm wrong about you, Dad."_

_Now fully dressed in her jumpsuit, she crossed the room and threw open her window. She made sure no one could see her before she jumped. Her boots landed on the ground with a soft click. The girl edged to the mouth of the alley._

_The man in question was walking down the street in a haze. He bumped freely into anyone, as well as anything, in his way. Every alarm in her mind was buzzing. Something was clearly wrong with this man. _

_He made his way to the other side of town. Not surprising the girl, he ended up at the military headquarters of Coast City. The man entered without a problem seeing as everyone knew him from when his wife was alive. The girl sighed. She thought about how to approach the building. It had military level defenses after all. But the girl had spent most of her life in the building. She had been a curious and bored young girl, not to mention very adept when it came to computers. As a result, she knew all of their security and schedules. _

_Right on cue, a brown van pulled up. The delivery man shut the door to his van and walked thru the door, making a fuss as usual. No one noticed the dark shadow slip by. _

_The girl followed the man up the stairs. He stopped on the sixth floor. The same floor his wife had worked on. He was greeted by the general secretary. Her voice was chipper until he pulled the piece of metal from his jacket. The girl's face turned to one of horror. _

_The man had a gun to the secretary's head._

_He pulled the trigger._

_Her father had just killed an innocent girl, just years older than her._

_The brunette was frozen to her spot in the shadows. She watched as her father took another life. Everyone either yelled or ran. Some stood still as they cried and begged for their lives. But the man had no mercy. His eyes were lifeless and distant as he pulled the trigger again and again._

_Suddenly, the girl came to life. Sticking to the darkness in the room, she made her way closer to the scene playing before her. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. She continued to breathe slowly for a minute. The sound of a woman's scream broke her, and she ran forward. Without any more hesitation, she attacked._

_Now, a girl of her stature, being only five-foot and close to a hundred and twenty pounds, she stood no chance in a physical battle against the built man. But she had been forced to study the martial arts when she was just five-years-old, and part of that was the human anatomy. She her mind was trained to point out a person's physical weakness and use it against them._

_The man spun toward her. She quickly ducked under his outstretched arm. Taking the top of the gun in her hand, the girl continued the man's momentum as he spun and pulled him in a circle and released. The man's back hit the wall, sending the breath from his lungs. Wasting no time, the girl grabbed the gun once more. With her free hand, she jabbed at the inside of his wrist, causing his fingers to release his grip of the gun. She let the magazine fall to the floor and un-cocked the gun, breathing a sigh of relief when the bullet hit the ground. _

_Not skipping a beat, she tossed the gun to the side and turned back to the man. The girl almost collapsed at what she saw. _

_The man was utterly emotionless. _

_There was no warm smile welcoming her home from school. There was no careless and happy laugh as she jumped into his embrace. There was on content in his eyes as he sat on the couch and watched dumb movies with her. And she realized there never will be._

_The man he used to be died with his wife._

_The girl had lost both of her parents with one letter._

_A cry escaped her lips as she twisted on one leg, her other coming up with enough momentum to knock the man unconscious. He fell to the ground without a word as cheers erupted around the girl. She took a deep breath and looked around. The room was a bloody mess of people she had grown up knowing. One of the few left standing came up to her and fell to her knees, encircling the girl's waist as she cried her thanks. The girl peeled herself from the woman. Giving the crowd a shaky smile, she walked to the stairs._

"_Wait! What's your name?"_

_The girl turned to see a young man already on the phone with the police. He looked hopefully at her. She took a deep breath before giving her best smirk._

"_Call me Ouzel."_

* * *

**This was sort of a test chapter. I've never really done a story mainly of flashbacks and what-not, but I really wanted to do it this way. Kind of like a build up to the full story. There will be more flashbacks but none like this. I think every other chapter is going to be sort of a flashback, until I see fit. It'll make more sense when I write it. Still, I think this was a success, even if I did tweek Jack's family's story a bit. I'm not entirely sure if they did have any kids, or if his wife was actually named Martha, and I'm pretty sure he didn't go on a killing spree. But hey, this is a fanfiction.**

**I hope you liked it! Review please! I'd love some feedback!**


	2. Second Entry: Spandex

**Well, I'm back! And with a new chapter!**

**Now, speaking of multiverses... I may have changed up a little of Hal's story line, but this is a fanfiction, and I started writing it before I actually got done reading about it... soooo.. Woops. *shrug* I only tweeked a little detail that hopefully won't change too much, and won't get people mad. If it does, then I'm terribly sorry, but I'm keeping it this way. It's my fanfiction, and if you don't like it, then you don't have to read it. You have the power to change the page. **

**This one may be a little shorter, but I wanted to update tonight. And I still think it gets my point across. **

**Oh, and Owlettes, you are awesome. Just thought I should say that.**

**Now on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Page. The rest belong to DC.**

* * *

Diary of a Page:

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of heroes is spandex. It may seem funny that I don't think of being brave, courageous, or even strong. No, I think of spandex. It's almost like they _want_ people to ogle them. Green Lantern, Superman, Flash, even Martian Manhunter, whose clothes can change by just a thought, like to strut their stuff in the tight-fitting fabric. Even some women wear spandex, and the others wear even more revealing costumes, namely leotards. Just think of Wonder Woman, Power Girl, and Black Canary. Hawkgirl even wears a corset and a miniskirt.

I just don't get it.

I can only think of a few exceptions to the rules.

Two being a couple of archers. Green and Red Arrow don't like the tight stuff. I asked them about it once. Green Arrow said, and I quote, "I can't stand spandex. It makes every inch of me sweat like I'm a giant, three-hundred pound, hairy gorilla. Not pleasant." Red Arrow, at the time he was going by Speedy, felt it was "too restricting despite the fact that it was supposed to free your movement".

Another exception was Zatara, the magician of the League. He wore a classical illusionist's get-up. I remember stealing his top hat a couple of times. But a few months later, he had donned the Helmet of Fate, becoming Doctor Fate. What does Doctor Fate wear? Let's say it all together: spandex!

The last exception to the spandex rule would be Batman. I've heard that his original costume had been a bunch of the gray and blue stretchy stuff before he got the whole 'Dark Knight' persona, but I bet that's just a rumor. His costume is all armor; hard, thick, relatively bullet-proof Kevlar. I've felt it before. I was amazed at how light-weight his cape was, especially when he told me it was fire- and water-proof. With the bat not wearing spandex, it didn't surprise me when I found out his sidekick, at the time, didn't either.

I've never worn the stuff. I've always hated the way it showed off your body the way it does; forming to your skin as if you're wearing nothing. My costume as a hero, as Ouzel, was a jumpsuit yes, but never full-on spandex like the others. It was originally just a normal zip-up-the-front jumpsuit. Then after an accident – it just so happened to have been the same accident that the League found out I was a hero – it was replaced with the same fabric the bat wears. I was forbidden to put my mask back on, but I adamantly protested. Eventually they gave in. Then Batman gave me my improved and newly armored costume. It was perfect. I thought to myself, "Yes! No spandex!"

I never thought that a year and five months later, I would be wearing the fabric that I hate the most.

**...**

"Do you think we would have lived if it hadn't been for her?" A woman's voice asked. It was a smooth, calming voice with worry strung throughout.

"No. There was no way for us to have survived from that explosion." A man answered. His voice was rough, almost as if he was purposely changing it. "It destroyed the entire city. If we hadn't evacuated, everyone would have died. It's bad enough that Robin reported there were a number that refused to leave their homes."

"But there's nothing we could have done about that, right? If they refused, we couldn't force them to leave." Another man protested. There was something missing to this man's voice, almost as if talking about a serious subject just didn't suit him.

"I like to think not." The gruff voice sounded perpetually depressed.

I gasped as my eyes shot open, my lungs raking in breaths as if I would never breathe again. With each inhale there would be an incredible pain in my abdomen. I curled my arms around my middle and tightly closed my eyes, sweat clinging to my pale skin. My breathing slowly started to even out as a hand gently stroked my bangs back away from my face. I eased my eyes open, trying to keep my inhaling shallow as to not hurt anymore. In reality, I probably shouldn't have done that.

"Page? Are you alright?" My vision swam into focus to see a blonde with a gentle smile staring down at me. Black Canary's voice broke the silence. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just got blown up."

When I spoke, it felt like my throat had been shaved down with sandpaper. I sounded almost as rough as Batman. I quickly took a sip of the water held to my lips. Black Canary helped me sit up. It took me a minute to realize where I was. I was in the medical wing of Mount Justice, the cave being used by the Young Justice Team, as I deemed them when I first visited this place. Behind Black Canary stood Green Arrow, his hand on her shoulder. Apparently I was at the first bed in the room seeing as Red Arrow was leaning against the wall by the door, and the Dark Knight was standing in front of the door. When I sat up, Red mumbled something I couldn't hear and left, but not before Batman had his two-cents.

"That's not surprising. You basically did get blown up." The older archer mused. He was sent a stern look from Black Canary. She then gave me another one of her comforting, motherly smiles.

"What Green Arrow is trying say is that you saved the League from being blown up." She looked unsurely at Batman. In response, the bat swooped forward.

"Ouzel, you disobeyed direct orders." He started.

I rolled my eyes, adding to the headache that was pounding behind my eyes. "Oh, please. Save it for a rainy day, Batsy. I get it. I acted out of term. I could have killed myself. I jeopardized the entire Leagues' safety. You're taking my mask for this." I took a deep breath and winced. "What else is new?"

"All of this is true. I will be taking your mask, as well as your suit. That is, unless you need it back." I glanced up at the bat, thoroughly confused. He continued. "I can't stop you from being a Lantern. No matter how much I want to."

My eyes grew huge. I brought my hand up and held it inches from my face, blinking as if it were going to dematerialize. Sure enough, a green ring with the symbol for the Green Lantern Corps was placed securely on the middle finger of my right hand. I followed my eyes up my arm to my chest. There were white gloves covering my hands to my elbows; black from my elbows to my shoulders; green from my shoulders, up my neck, and down to end in a point on my waist; black pants; and green boots. On my chest was a white, Green Lantern Corps symbol. I brought my hands to my face, feeling a mask there. But my black mask was laying at my feet on top of my black jumpsuit. I continued to feel around the edges of the mask and came to the conclusion that it was exactly like Uncle Hal's mask.

"Uncle Hal…" I breathed.

I threw my head up when the door burst open. In came the entire Young Justice Team: a smirking bird, a munching speedster, a moody archer, a worried Martian, a brooding clone, a smiling magician, a laughing rocket, and a concerned Atlantian. Red Arrow came in behind them, looking quite amused. He took his spot by the now open door, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.

Black Canary quickly stood up and walked to the door, Green Arrow at her heels. She only stopped briefly at the foot of my bed to pick up my old costume. "We'll leave you all alone."

And I was alone with the Team. Somewhere in the small timespan, Batman had disappeared. My mouth was open, and I was left just gaping at Red Arrow. He smirked. After a minute, I glanced around.

Raquel and Zatanna had taken two chairs by the foot of the bed. They were talking quietly together. I dismissed this, seeing as I hadn't really gotten to know them in the time they had been on the Team. M'gann had taken the seat Black Canary had been sitting in, with Konner taking up Green Arrow's stance. Immediately to my right, standing next to the Martian, Artemis was crossing her arms, subconsciously standing the same way Red Arrow always stood, smirk and all. On the other side of the Martian and clone, stood Kaldur. The Atlantian had a warm smile on his face. Stuffing his face full of chips, Wally sat on the other side of my bed. The ginger made sure he wasn't sitting on my legs before continuing to eat. On the same side as the speedster, perching in a crouch on the little stand that held a water cup and pitcher was a bird. Robin grinned at me, his sunglasses catching the light.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay?" M'gann's worried voice carried throughout the room, silencing everything.

I glanced around awkwardly. I was never one for crowds. "Uh, I guess I'm alright."

"Black Canary said you had a couple of bruised ribs, but nothing too serious." Artemis said, trying to go for nonchalance.

"Still, a bruised rib is an injury." For some reason, Kaldur's voice never seemed to get rid of its serious tone. "And even if you are not an official member of the Team, you are still a friend."

"What Kaldur's trying to say is that we were worried about you." M'gann rushed to say.

"I'm fine." I mumbled.

I hated the fact that I've known everyone for a year now, and I still feel so weird around most of them. My mood didn't go unnoticed by them. A minute later the talking started. I wasn't really paying any attention until I felt a pressure on my leg. I looked up. Wally had finished eating, the empty bag crinkled and tossed in the trash. He had his hand resting on my knee, a genuine smile on his lips.

"So, spandex huh?"

I groaned, causing a slight pain behind my stomach. At least I knew why it was hurting now. "I know. I hate it."

"Didn't you say you would never wear a spandex suit?" Robin's asked, clearly amused. "And congrats on becoming a Green Lantern."

My mouth opened to reply, but I was frozen. It just occurred to me. "I'm a Lantern." I whispered. "I took Uncle Hal's ring."

"Page?"

I looked up. Everyone was staring at me. Red Arrow had walked over and was now standing next to Kaldur. I looked down, my eyes growing wider. I wasn't in spandex anymore. In replace of the green boots were my beat-up old convers. My eyes snaked up my holey jeans, up to my white tank-top and black, worn and weather-beaten, leather jacket. I stared wide eyed at the ring on my hand. It had acted on my upset mood and replaced my new costume with the clothes I had been wearing this morning.

"Page, are you okay?" Red Arrow's voice cut through my mind. I looked up, shaking my head.

"Yeah, yeah, of course. I'm just a little…overwhelmed." I wrapped my arm around my stomach and grabbed the other side, wincing. "Not to mention my stupid rib hurts whenever I breathe."

M'gann looked up at the older archer. Her features had concern written all over. "Black Canary said that her injuries weren't that bad. Was she wrong? Is she in more pain than we thought?"

He waved her off and turned back to me. "Do you want us to leave?"

"No, it's fine. I'm alright. I just-." I froze, my eyes growing wider along with my mouth. Suddenly, I sprung up onto my knees, startling everyone. I grabbed Red Arrow's shoulders. I knew the fear in my eyes made his widen, even if I couldn't see them behind his mask. "Uncle Hal! Is he alright? Please tell me he's okay!" When he didn't speak, the pain in my stomach intensified.

"He's in a coma."

I whipped my head around. The ebony that spoke was now sitting on the table. His expression was stern and held authority that couldn't be matched by someone his age. Trust me. I've tried.

I sat back down, ignoring the pain, and rubbed my eyes in frustration. "This is all wrong. This shouldn't have happened." I sighed and looked back up. "Is he at the Watchtower?"

"Has been for three days." He said with a nod. My eyes widened.

"Three days? I've been asleep for three days?" I fell back onto the bed, the palms of my hands covering my eyes, and groaned.

"Don't worry, Page!" M'gann's chipper voice cut the tension. "You haven't missed much."

I could almost feel the air in the room change when three different pairs of voices laughed. The first one burst out into a loud, obnoxious cackle. His high tenor started a minute before the bass. It started out slow and then grew into more amused laughter. The last was just out-right fruitful, causing everyone to relax.

"Why are you guys laughing?" Konner's angry voice didn't faze them. Instead, it made the two youngest laugh even harder.

Red Arrow was clearly amused. "Because it's funny." He said almost condescendingly.

"She's not upset about sleeping for _three days_," Wally got out through laughs.

Robin continued, his cackle now turned into an ecstatic grin. "She's upset about sleeping for three days _in spandex_."

It was silent.

Then all at once, everyone started laughing. I glared at the bird. His grin made me even more mad. Instead, I turned my glare to Red Arrow. His 'greater than thou' expression was on full blast, making him look like a total ass. I scoffed.

"I'm never wearing spandex again."

Konner's head bounced up like his pet wolf usually did when he heard his master's voice. "M'gann, the timer went off."

"Oh!" The Martian jumped to her feet, rushing out the door. Konner was following her close.

The other two girls stood at the foot of my bed. Zatanna spoke as she reached down to squeeze my foot. "We're really glad you're okay, Page."

Then they left, Raquel dragging Kaldur out with them. The distressed boy gave me an apologetic smile. I waved him out of the room, telling him it was alright. The door then shut. It echoed throughout the room, giving way to a more depressing atmosphere.

I looked up at a hand on my shoulder. Artemis smiled down at me, although her gray eyes looked sad. She sat in the empty chair and looked down at her own hands. I looked up at Red Arrow. He didn't look happy.

"After the explosion, you collapsed, so we brought you here. You seemed to be fine, but Hal wasn't. Manhunter had already calmed him down and put him to sleep, but with the state his mind was in at the time, it put him in a coma. They're keeping him under surveillance in the medical bay on the watch tower. They won't let me in." Red pointed to Robin. "They won't even let him in there."

The laugh just bubbled up from my throat. I couldn't keep it down, and once it was out, I realized just how delirious it sounded. Shaking my head, I closed my eyes, feeling tears trail down my cheeks.

"This is all wrong. He's not supposed to be bad. He's not supposed to be dangerous. I told Mom he wasn't dangerous. I promised her he wasn't. He's not dangerous!" I screamed squeezing my eyes shut.

The weight on the bed shifted, and there were arms around me, bringing me into a firm chest. My fingers gripped the leather strap around his shoulder in a death grip. I took three quick breaths and let them out slowly, attempting to calm myself. No matter how much I wiped at my eyes, the tears kept falling, so I realized I had to pull out of the hug. Red frowned, but released me and stood again. I jumped when Artemis slipped her hand in mine, and a minute later, I realized Wally was still clinging to my leg. The expression on his face made it seem as if I would die if he let go.

Now, normally I would just shrug everyone off. I'm not that into the touchy-feely stuff.

But strangely, I didn't mind.

What topped the cake, though, was Robin. He jumped from the table, over Wally, and landed directly in front of me. My eyes widened for a second before I realized he was hugging me. His voice was barely a whisper.

"He's not dangerous. It's alright, my ouzel."

I wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my face into the crook of his neck. My eyes were now so dry, they were burning. So I closed them.

It always happens this way. There's a trick in getting me to calm down. We discovered it the last time I freaked out, but it's always been the same, ever since I learned my mother had been killed. My uncle would always hug me and call me his 'little birdy'. The last time, I was alone with Robin. I had just gotten out of a huge fight, having my shoulder dislocated, and had gone to the cave seeing as Uncle Hal was on a mission with Batman, saying I was too young. Luckily, Robin is the same age as me. He was the only one in the mountain, sitting on the couch in the living area. I had run in, screaming about what had happened, about my shoulder. He quickly reset my shoulder, but that didn't calm me down. Thankfully he had seen Uncle Hal calm me. The bird gently brought me into a hug and whispered to me. A little later, he told me about the trick.

"_But you called me Ouzel. You didn't say what Uncle Hal does." I said._

"_You are your uncle's little birdy." Robin grinned at me. "But you're my black bird, my ouzel." _

The ebony let me go, falling back onto the bed. His grins always make me smile, and I couldn't help the one that came out. But the moment didn't last long. Everyone turned at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Robin sprang from the bed, landing on the floor without a sound.

Batman swept forward. "Page, you are to come with me. And only Page." He purposely turned his glare on Red Arrow, who scoffed while crossing his arms.

I didn't waste any time. Before anyone turned, I was jumping out of bed. Literally. In one fluid, and repeatedly practiced move, I reached out to grab the foot of the bed and flipped over it. Landing behind Robin, I quickly spun around him and dashed forward, following the capped crusader out of the medical wing. He led me to the zeta tubes. Stopping in front of one, a holo screen appeared and he continued to tap away. A few minutes later, a light shot out and scanned us both. We stepped into the tube.

I gasped.

The first thing I saw was stars. I quickly realized we were separated from them by two thick layers of glass. Batman stepped out of the zeta tube with me following him like a baby duck. Every room we passed was huge. There was a room filled with plants, completely covered in them; a room with a bunch of tapestries with mystical symbols hand-painted on them; a room completely filled with different types of technology; but most were empty. There were hardly any people there. We passed the Icon and Doctor Fate in the tapestry room, and Wonder Woman was in the plant room, but that was it.

After taking a small elevator ride, the doors opened to a brightly light room. There were beds everywhere. I stepped out after the bat, and was hit with the stench of disinfectant. It was so strong, my nose started stinging. We stopped in front of a door. The big blue Boy Scout was leaning against the wall, but when we saw us, he pushed away and walked forward. He looked disapprovingly at me.

I just saved his ass, and he has the audacity to disapprove of me in his precious satellite?

Needless to say, the bat wasn't the only one glaring.

"What's she doing here?" Superman crossed his arms over his chest. I scoffed at his muscles. Spandex. As if he read my mind, he shifted uncomfortably. "No kids in the Watchtower."

"She is not a kid." Batman glowered. I smirked. If he refused to call Robin a kid, then he couldn't rightfully call me a kid. "And she is here to see her uncle."

Superman nodded and stepped aside. We passed him and went into the room. The curtains were drawn around the bed, but Martian Manhunter pushed them back when the door shut. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. I walked around the Martian and sat on the bed by my uncle. He was perfectly still. His expression was peaceful, and if it wasn't for the steady rise and fall of his chest, I would have thought he was dead. I allowed a small smile to come as I pushed a stray hair away from his forehead. That string of hair always fell away from the rest, irritating me beyond no end.

"He is still in a state of sleep." I heard Manhunter talking softly with Batman. "I have tried to sort through his thoughts, and organize them, bringing back his old self before the attack on Coast City. But it will take many more days."

I turned toward them. I guess I wasn't supposed to hear, because Batman glared at me. "What if you had help?"

The green man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose it would take less time."

"I can help." I said quickly. "Well, I can try to help. He is my uncle."

"But there's a problem. You have only been with your uncle for three years." Leave it to the Batman to find a loop-hole.

My shoulders dropped, but the instantly went back up. I shook my head. "I may have just gotten him back, but I've known him all my life. There are just two years where he wasn't there. That can't matter that much. Plus, Martian Manhunter knew Uncle Hal then, so he can basically fill in the blanks."

I didn't think it was possible, but the bat's eyes narrowed even farther, and what the Martian said next didn't help that much.

"In order to do all of this, I will need more help. I will need – that is if she can – the help of my niece, M'gann."

I shifted uncomfortably next to Uncle Hal. The glare I was getting from Batman made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge. There is a reason why he's called the 'Dark Knight'. When he talked, his voice reflected just how much he hated me right now.

"Do you really think M'gann is ready to do something so dangerous right now? Her powers have been improving but is this safe?"

"If I am there to help her, yes. I believe if all three of us were to do this together, we will succeed."

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**Well, I hope you liked it!**

**I'll get into how everyone knows each other in the next few chapters. Number three will be...**

**Red Arrow! Yay!**

**Review please!**


	3. Third Entry: Family

**Hey everyone! Thanks for bearing with me.**

**And just like I promised, heeeeeere's Roy! Sorry for the drama and crying, but really, wouldn't you cry if your uncle was in a coma? I know I would.**

**A big thanks to Owlettes, Sylanc, MiniVillian, hazelstorm92, and ODD CANDY! You guys are so awesome. If I saw you on the street, I'd give you a high-five. I hope you guys all like this new entry!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Page. The rest belong to DC.**

* * *

Diary of a Page:

Everyone has parents.

I don't care if you know them or not, even if they're dead. You still have them, and you always will. They may not even be the parents that gave birth to you. None of that matters. All that matters is that every single person on this good planet called Earth has parents in one form or another. It could be an older friend you look up to and think of as a "mother" or "father". It could be another relative you're particularly close to. But it doesn't matter.

Everyone has siblings.

It could be just a sister or just a brother. It could be a best friend. They could be adopted. You could be adopted. You could have two siblings, or even eight. Even if you have your own blood brother, you could think of your best friend as your brother. You can even like them better than your own family.

Everyone has a family.

I realized that when my immediate family left me.

My mother was a very respected military officer, and along with the job description, a strict woman. But she was also very caring in her own weird way. She was also incredibly overprotective. Once, she had actually forbid me from seeing my own uncle. Not that I fully blame her.

My father was the most doting parent I'd ever seen. Not even gay dads had anything on him. But once my mother was killed in battle, it became clear just how much my father cared. He never did. Not about me at least. He was perpetually in love with my mother. When we got the news, he didn't look at me, even when he was hauled off to Arkham Asylum clear across the country. He never spoke a word to me. Maybe he did care. Maybe he cared so much, he couldn't look at me. I did look exactly like my mother after all.

But none of that mattered.

It may sound terrible, but I didn't care about _that_ family anymore.

The night they took my father away was the night I realized I had loved my uncle more than my own father, more than my own flesh and blood. I had felt guilty for the next month. When I told my uncle that, he almost cried. I figured it was because I was so selfish and uncaring, but he told me it was because he was happy. He loved and felt bad for my father, his brother, but he also loved me as if I were his own daughter. He told me that was why he called me his "little birdy".

Not too long after that, did I realize a family can be found.

You can even have an angry older brother, who looks nothing like you, but still cares enough about you to make you feel loved. You can even find a family of Martians, partial Kryptonians, Atlantians, country bumpkins, circus acrobats, and shadow-trained archers.

As long as you love them, anyone can be family.

…

"And you're sure that you really want to do this?"

Red Arrow's unconvinced tone made me want to punch his face in. But, alas, I knew I wouldn't be able to even flinch in his direction. And that's only partly because Black Canary was holding my head still. I was back at the medical wing of Mount Justice. When I came back, the blonde insisted that she check to make sure I didn't have a concussion now that I've been awake for about an hour. She turned the flashlight off, and I blinked gratefully.

"It's not too late to just tell Bats to back off. He can find some other way to wake Hal up. Maybe he has a special 'bat-spray' saved for just this occasion." The redhead mumbled the last part, but it didn't go unnoticed by the team gathered around us. The Martian's eyes practically jumped out of her skull.

I sighed. I'm glad he cares and all, but it was getting old. "Seriously, Red? I'm good. It was my idea, remember? And Miss M's got it covered." I flashed an easy smile at the green girl. "I trust her."

"Well, you don't seem to have a concussion, Page." Canary said, rising from her stool. She set the flashlight on the small table. "You're good to go."

If they couldn't tell, I had just about had it with any form of hospitals. I was out of there, to take a line out of Barry's book, 'in a flash'. Just about the only one who kept my pace, was Wally. The speedster was already sitting on the couch when I got there. I fell against the welcomed cushions, sighing.

The rest of the team filed in, taking their usual spots: M'gann heading to the kitchen where she spent most of her time, with Konner dead on her heels; Kaldur took his usual spot on the loveseat to the left of the couch; after grinning at Zatanna, Raquel jumped onto the cushion next to Kaldur; the magician hopped onto the table in the corner; Artemis slipped passed the red archer and into the coveted 'Arrow Chair' as we dubbed it, solely because the two archers always fought over it; Robin flipped over the side of the couch to land gracefully next to me; and just as predicted, Red Arrow stood directly in my view of the gigantic television that Wally was now flipping through channels on. The older boy had his arms crossed, standing in his 'I disapprove of what you are thinking of doing' stance. One that I've seen way to often for my liking.

"I don't like it."

"Well, I don't care." I mimicked him. He narrowed his eyes, then turned and walked out. A few minutes later, the computer system could be heard announcing his departure. I fell back against the cushions once more.

"What was up with him?" Artemis asked. She leaned forward in her chair, her hair falling in front of her shoulders. "It was like he just sat on the stick already shoved up his ass."

Unlike the openly cackling ebony next to me, I opted to cover my mouth, going for the more polite approach. Although, I think Artemis had killed that one already. "Red's just worried about me."

"Is he your brother?" Raquel asked.

I shook my head. "No, I don't have any siblings, but he is the closest I have to any."

M'gann leaned over the island counter, her elbow just missing the freshly rolled out cookie dough. "How did you guys meet?"

I cocked my head to the side. "Why do I feel a flashback coming on?"

"_You are not allowed to leave the house after eight-thirty, got it?"_

_The twelve-year-old brunette just rolled her eyes. She sighed but still nodded. Her uncle was standing above her small frame sitting on the couch. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, still not trusting her enough to leave. It had been almost a year since he took her in; almost a year since he had patrolled his sector of planets as a Green Lantern. He was a year overdo. But since his brother had decided to gun down an entire floor of the military headquarters in Coast City, he had to have a fellow Green Lantern guard his sector. It had been a year since the incident that changed both of their lives, so he decided to get back to work. The girl leaned back into the cushions, pulling her knees up. She didn't seem very excited for the weekend, but he had to go._

"_You've told me that five times, Uncle Hal." She set her chin on her knees. "When is this guy supposed to be here, anyway?"_

"_He should be here-." _

_The older man was interrupted by a sharp knock. He glanced at his niece before hastily walking to the door and opening it. A young redhead stood on the other side. The man stepped aside for the boy to come in then shut the door._

"_Page, this is Roy. He's Ollie's son. He's going to stay with you for the weekend and watch the city." He sent a look toward the girl. She was having a fierce glaring contest with the new arrival. "Be. Good."_

_The girl sighed, but she nodded and stood. "Don't worry, I won't be bad."_

"_Somehow, that doesn't make me feel that confident."_

"_Uncle Hal…" The girl whined with a dramatic head roll. "It's fine. I won't do anything wrong. I promise."_

_After another ten minutes of reassuring, the girl's uncle left the two. The redhead set his bag on the coffee table before sitting and staring at the girl. Her brown eyes glanced around a second then landed on his blue ones._

"_What?"_

"_You're Hal's niece?" The boy's voice was surprisingly low for how young he looked. "You have the same brown hair, but that's it. You look nothing like him."_

_The young girl scoffed. "You don't have to look like someone to be family. You don't look anything like Uncle Ollie."_

_The boy seemed completely unfazed by her harsh tone. Instead, he just continued. "How old are you, anyway?"_

"_I'm twelve." The brunette set her feet on the floor, suddenly interested in the conversation. "How old are you?"_

"_I'm seventeen, but my birthday is in two months."_

"_Mine is in three months. Have you had a lot of experience in babysitting?"_

_The teen leaned back, a smirk gracing his features. He laced his fingers together behind his head. "Oh, too much experience. I used to babysit Kid Flash and Robin when I was your age."_

"_So you have quite a few years' experience under your belt." The girl tried to mimic the elder's smirk. "And babysitting _heroes_, that's impressive." _

_There were a couple more hours of interrogating her new babysitter before he sent her off to sleep, and not without multiple protests from the girl. She ended up giving in and retiring to her room. But she didn't sleep, she sat by the door, waiting. It was another hour before she heard the television click off, and the front door shutting. The girl grinned. It was ten at night, and just the time for the bad guys to come out of hiding. Not five minutes later was the girl out her bedroom window, and swinging from her fire escape onto the rooftop of her building._

"…_a robbery on Seventh and Price, the Coast's National Bank, closest units respond."_

_The girl landed in a crouch on the roof of the current building she had been swinging onto, with her hand pressed against her ear. The radio she had made buzzed as a distracted voice responded._

"_Uh, yeah. It'll be about five minutes. There was a disturbance down by Town Center. We're just finishing up."_

_She glanced down at the street and grinned. _

"_Perfect."_

_The girl leaped down, caught the street sign, and slid onto the sidewalk. It only took her a second to run across the road and slip into the open bank doors. The place was dark, and deserted. If she hadn't been trained to be light on her feet, her footsteps would have echoed in the quiet building. She walked along the shadows, coming closer to the vault._

"_Make sure you get everything! Boss wants the place cleared out." A voice commanded._

_She slipped farther into the shadows until she knew she couldn't be seen, then she continued forward. Standing in front of the cracked vault door, was just one man. He was a good two feet taller than the girl and looked the part, semi-automatic gun and black ski mask. _

_Quietly and gracefully, the girl slinked up behind him, and in one swift motion, she grabbed his shoulders, pulling herself up. She wrapped her legs around his arms, pulling them back, and locked her ankles together, while planting a hand firmly over his mouth, silencing any shouts he was about to make. The girl pulled his head back and to the side so he could see her masked face, a grin spreading across her lips. The man's eyes widened with fear._

"_Sleep tight." _

_The girl hissed in his ear, jabbing at the man's neck with her free hand. Her back it the wall with a silent _thump _as the man's eyes rolled back and his body became limp. She slid down the wall with the man until her feet touched the ground, letting the man crumple to the ground. The girl crept closer to the open vault. _

_The light was the only thing illuminating the dark room in the center of the bank, void from any windows. There were three men inside all wearing ski masks. The man closest to the door was smaller, in height and bulk, than the other two. He was also closest to the door. The short man was stacking up briefcases onto a table while the other two, farther back, were filling the briefcases with stacks of money. The two were just as tall as the first man lying by the girl's feet, but one of them was significantly skinnier than the others. _

_When the short man turned and leaned over to pick up a couple of cases, the girl acted. She slipped in the vault and towards the man. The man turned around and instantly gagged, dropped the cases, and put his hands to his throat. The girl had struck his neck and threw him into the table. She then turned, prepared for a fight, grinning like mad._

"_Who's this?" The lanky man gestured with a stack of money. "Mikey! Hey, Mikey!"_

"_Shut up, you idiot!" The tall man thrust his elbow into his partner's ribs, causing him to clutch his side. He snorted, his features contorted into a menacing grin. "Green Lantern too good for us? Sent his little bird, huh?"_

_The masked girl crossed her arms, nudging the fallen man away from her, ignoring the strained noises that managed to slide passed his lips. "For your information, I've never worked with Green Lantern, let alone talked to the guy." The girl smirked and waved her hand toward the door. "And Mikey? He's taking a little nap."_

"_You bitch!" The man snarled. He grabbed his partner's shoulder and shoved him forward, making him stumble. "Take care of this _Ouzel_." He spat the word._

_The lanky man ran towards her, swinging a briefcase he held. The girl simply jumped up then used the briefcase to propel herself higher and over the man. She was landing in a crouch before he realized what he had helped her accomplish. And he was lying on his back and out like a light a second later, the girl dusting off her boots as she stood. _

"_Wanna try one more time?" The girl grinned at the now fuming man. "They say fourth time's a charm."_

_He started forward. The girl took up a fighting stance as he moved closer. When the man was within striking distance, he thrust his arm at her torso. His speed caught her off guard, making her jerk backwards. The girl narrowed her eyes at his sneer, and then she saw the glint of light from the metal object he held. The knife was dripping with blood. Her blood._

_Her eyes widened behind her mask and her hand wrapped around her stomach, earning an internal wince and an external narrowing of her eyes. But before she could move again, something flew passed her head and onto the man's chest. He let out a muffled cry as a red substance was released from what the girl realized was a red arrow. She jumped backwards, flipping one-handed over the two unconscious men, and landing on the edge of the overturned table. The girl looked back to the man, who was now covered in the substance._

"_High-density polyurethane foam: perfect for trapping the bigger ones."_

_The girl whipped her head around. Standing in the open doorway of the vault, a tall red-haired boy slung his bow over his shoulder. He turned to her as she jumped down from the table, still holding her now immensely hurting stomach._

"_Speedy. Aren't you in the wrong city?"_

_The teen crossed his arms defiantly over his chest. As much as he tried, the redhead wasn't intimidating the younger girl by a hair. She took one glance at his red Robin Hood costume, and snorted, adding to her throbbing headache._

"_I was asked to watch it for Green Lantern. I didn't expect to run into a little vigilante while doing so."_

"_This is my city too, Red." She snarled. "And it's Ouzel."_

_The archer smirked. "My name isn't Red. It's Speedy."_

_Instead of retaliating like she had planned, the girl gritted her teeth and fell forward, lightheaded. The previously cocky teen reached out and caught her, sweeping her up into his arms. She let out a painful breath, but closed her eyes and relaxed against his chest._

"_Your name should be Red Arrow instead." She mumbled. "It sounds more like an archer than Speedy."_

"_You've been hurt badly. You need medical attention."_

_When the girl opened her eyes, she bolted upright, but immediately fell back, clutching her stomach. She looked around, her brown eyes analyzing her surroundings. She was in what seemed like an open hospital wing with rows of beds. Everything was white._

"_You're awake."_

_The brunette turned her head. Sitting in an uncomfortable-looking white chair, was the red-haired archer. He wore a frown._

"_You passed out before we even got out of the bank." He gestured to her stomach. "That was a pretty deep gash you got there. Thankfully, the zeta tube was just down the next alley; otherwise you might not have made it. Not to mention Black Canary's doctor skills." His eyebrows rose as he shook his head. "I swear I'm going to learn first aide one of these days."_

"_Black Canary?" The girl's eyes widened. "Where am I?"_

"_You are at Mount Justice!" _

_The reply was from a more upbeat voice, belonging to another red-haired, yet younger boy. Unlike the scowling archer, a huge grin was spread across this boy's freckled face, his emerald eyes sparkling. He was pushed forward causing him to stumble, catching himself on the foot of the bed. A much shorter boy now took his place in the doorway. He had ebony hair and a smirk plastered on his face. The ebony pushed his sunglasses up his nose before walking over to the freckled boy, setting his arm on his shoulder._

_The archer sighed. "Ouzel, this is Kid Flash and Robin. Guys, this is Ouzel from Coast City. Twelve and thinking she can play in the big-leagues." _

"_Hey! I said I was turning thirteen in three months." The girl snapped. _

"_That still doesn't excuse the fact that I had to drag you bleeding and unconscious to the Mountain."_

_Slowly sitting up and rubbing her forehead, the girl sighed. "I'm going to have a lot of fun explaining this one, aren't I?" She mumbled to herself, but that didn't go unnoticed in the quite room._

"_Explaining injuries to your parents? Yeah, I've been there. Not fun. Oh, you can call me Wally, by the way." The speedster sympathized while smiling. "Do they know you're a hero?"_

_Her loose brown hair fell into her face as she shook her head. "No. I live with my uncle, and I don't think he's realized it yet." She turned to her red-haired guardian. "But you should."_

_She watched as his expression slowly changed to one of shock as she pulled her mask off. _

"_I thought you were sleeping."_

"_Whoa, time out." The ebony made a T with his hands. "I thought you said you just met her in the bank."_

_The archer shook his head. He slowly reached up and removed his black mask, revealing his bright blue eyes. "I thought I did, but I'm supposed to be watching her for Hal while he's off world."_

"_Hey, don't feel bad. Uncle Hal doesn't know either, and I've lived with him for a year." The brunette mused. She grinned at the scowling boy._

"_Well, as much as I hate to burst your bubble…" The redhead smiled to himself and laughed. "That's just not true. I love bursting bubbles." He grinned at the younger girl sitting confused in the bed. "You are going to be in so much trouble Sunday night."_

"Page?"

I shook my head. Everyone was staring at me. Each held an expecting look, all except Kaldur, who was looking at me with concern, and Konner, who just seemed annoyed by my spacing out. I let out a laugh.

"Should we get Black Canary again?" Konner asked unsurely. M'gann patted his arm and shook her head.

"Sorry, sorry." I wiped a tear from my eye, grinning. "What's happening now?"

Zatanna hopped off the table and walked to the couch. "M'gann just asked how you met Red Arrow, and you just looked at her. Are you sure you don't want us to get Black Canary?"

"No, I'm fine." I smiled with my mind still in the flashback. "Red saved me. Needless to say, Uncle Hal grounded me for three months."

"Oh!" We all turned to Wally. He had the most ridiculously goofy grin plastered across his face that I have ever seen. And to add to the epiphany look, he was pointing to the ceiling. "That was when we met you!" He poked his nose and pointed at Robin.

This time I was the one holding my stomach laughing, and Robin was holding his cackle in with his hand over his mouth. I curled in on myself, grabbing at my throbbing rib. And Robin lost it when I fell over onto his lap, both of us crying from laughing so hard. When we finally got reasonable control over ourselves, I grinned, my back pressed up against Robin's legs.

"Yes, Wally. That was when I met you and Robin too." I stood up and smiled at everyone. "I'm going to go lay down, you guys. I still have a slight headache."

The room was filled with 'goodbye's and 'sleep well's even after I left. The walk to the infirmary was painfully long, and even when I was surrounded by those white walls, I kept feeling time go by so slow. Not bothering to unlace my boots, I kicked them under the bed and draped my jacket on the back of the chair by the bed. I took a shaky breath and crawled under the itchy sheet. But I couldn't stop thinking of that weekend almost two years ago.

_She was back in her own bed just an hour before her uncle, the Green Lantern, was arriving. Blue eyes scanned her over one last time, and the redhead watched her sheepishly pull the blanket over her legs to stop at her waist. She sighed, running her hands thru her freshly brushed hair. Her eyes never left the blanket. The teen pushed off the wall and took a seat on the edge of her bed. The girl's brown eyes met his blue._

"_Why?"_

_She shook her head. "Why what?"_

"_Why do you want to be a hero?" The redhead shrugged. "I mean, I get the helping people and everything, that's why I do it. But why? Don't you know you can die doing this? Like tonight, you could have died if I hadn't gotten there in time."_

"_Yes, but you were there." She looked back down, lacing her fingers together. "I get that it's a risky thing to do, but I just can't get the image out of my head."_

_The redhead gently set his hand over hers. He smiled, trying to comfort the young girl. "What image?"_

"_The image of my father killing all of those innocent people." The boy gripped her hand tighter. She looked up at him, realization plain on her face. "That's why I fight. When I saw the terror on their faces, all the men and women he shot, everyone that he killed, that I watched him kill. I still see their blood-splattered faces staring at the ceiling as they just lied there and slowly died. That's why I stopped him. That's why I took down my own father. I did it because they couldn't."_

_Without thinking, he pulled the girl into him, wrapping his arms securely around her shoulders. And she accepted it. She shut her eyes, breathing shallow, trying not to let herself cry. _

"_Isn't this a picture?"_

_The redhead instantly stood, his arms dropping to his sides. The girl stared with wide brown eyes at her uncle standing in the doorway. He grinned as he walked over._

"_I never thought that I'd see the argumentative Page," he smiled at his niece, "and the ever angsty Roy," he looked at the redhead, "_hugging_. Why were you two hugging, anyway?"_

"_We were just savoring our last few moments alive." The older man stared at the archer for a minute before he realized the boy was being serious. The redhead continued with a smirk. "So Hal, how long did you know Page here, was the infamous Ouzel?"_

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**That's all she wrote!**

**I think I delivered. I think this one was a success. Let's hope the rest are as well. XD **

**Please tell me how you think I'm writing the flashbacks. I still don't know how I feel about it. But I hope you like it! Please review!**


	4. Fourth Entry: Stress

**Hello, everyone.**

**So, um, I basically drenched my laptop in water so I had to wait for it to get fixed for a couple of weeks. And then school started again. English came with a vengance. Instead of writing for myself, I was forced by the educational system to write multiple pages of essays every week. It was terrible. **

**Okay, so I can't completely blame school. I did slack off a bit. Quite a bit. But in my defense, I've been focused on other pressing matters. Very pressing. But now I have a new chapter for you guys packed full of drama. Gotta love that drama. This chapter is basically focused around Page and Robin. Woooo.**

**I noticed some people checking out my other story, "About Time". Thaaank you for that. It's birdflash, so if you don't like it then please don't read it. If you do, it's much obliged. **

**I would name all of you, but there are a bit too many. *jumps for joy* You're the whole reason why I wrote so fiercely. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Page, the rest belong to DC.**

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Diary of a Page:

Have you ever had an enormous weight on your shoulders?

Oh, who am I kidding? Everyone has things that make them stress, even kids.

After a year and a half of the hero-ing business, I've held my weight of stress. In fact, with the amount of anxiety and liability that a superhero carries is a surprisingly less amount than what a normal, average person deals with. Crazy, I know, but it's true. Speaking from experience on both sides of the spectrum, but when I'm Ouzel I don't have to worry about anything else but me and the team. There's a set thing for me to do. Nothing else. No complications.

When you're just an average Joe, it gets a bit problematical. You have the regular social pressures, and then there's the family aspect. Most of the social pressure is the same for almost everyone. The family, though, is different for everyone. Each little thing can have an affect no matter how small. All of these affects grow and pile on top of each other to weight you down. That's when you have to either learn to deal with the stress, or find something to drown out the pressure of everything and just let go of your worries. When you find your comfort, keep it. Hold onto it. Never let it go. No matter what.

…

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

I felt my shoulders relax as the room turned silent again. My eyes were closed and my hands were resting on my knees as I sat cross-legged on the bed next to my uncle. M'gann was on the other side, sitting in a chair next to her uncle. We were currently in the middle of a session of memories. And unfortunately, it wasn't going so well.

I immediately tensed as that stupid high-pitched laughter filled the room again.

_Shut up!_

That was all I could think. That voice just grated on my ears, every time she opened her mouth, even if it was just breathing. I could hear the nearly silent hiss of air sliding passed her lips. And even _that_ pissed me off.

"Um, Page?"

I opened my eyes to look at M'gann. The green skinned girl looked concerned, as did her uncle. I blinked.

"Oh. You guys heard that, huh?" I grinned sheepishly.

And then I heard _it_ again. That laugh. That high-pitched, shrieking giggle. My eyes narrowed, and my head wiped around, zeroing in on the laughing girl.

She was lying on another bed in the medical bay we had moved my uncle to, only a couple beds down. She had short white hair cut with straight bangs above ice blue eyes, wearing the standard hospital gown. Her electric blue and white costume folded neatly on a small table. Her friend had longer light green hair and eyes to match. Unlike the other, she was still in her uniform, but she wasn't on fire like usual. She casually tugged on the top of her emerald corset to keep it in place before she leaned back down. The two girls were bent over, grinning and whispering.

I glared at her, willing her to just shut up for two seconds so I could concentrate. Then I jerked, almost falling out off of the bed. M'gann had her hand on my shoulder with a comforting smile gracing her green features.

"Maybe we should stop for today?"

I sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, probably should, huh?"

I glared at the girls as we passed. They both looked up, smiling pleasantly at the two of us. If M'gann hadn't tightened her grip on my arm, Fire would be laying in the bed next to Ice.

Instead, my eyes wandered around the halls and various rooms as we came to the main entrance of the Watchtower. I followed my green-skinned friend into the metal zeta tube, letting the beam scan me before a bright light encased us, blocking my vision. I blinked a couple of times until the familiar rock walls and metal floors of the Mountain appeared in front of me.

For the past week, I had been living here. This was the logical choice according to Batman. I didn't have any immediate family besides Uncle Hal and my unstable father in Arkham. My house was obliterated in the blast from Parallax, along with any of my old friends' houses. The entirety of Coast City was now in ruins. I had nowhere else to stay. So, for the time being, I was staying at Mount Justice with M'gann, Konner, Zatanna, and Kaldur. That is, until the League figures out what to do with me.

And let's not even mention the Lantern Corps.

Guy Gardner, the third Green Lantern, and John Stewart, the fourth Green Lantern of sector 2814, had a 'little chat' with me. They told me that I wasn't officially a Green Lantern yet. I told them I didn't have a problem with that. Truthfully, I didn't know whether or not I wanted to be a Green Lantern. That was my Uncle, not me. I know I had created the mantle of Ouzel, but she wasn't a Green Lantern. She didn't have those duties. She didn't require me to report to anyone other than the League every once in a while. She didn't have any restrictions, and she wasn't bound by honor to anyone. She was free. Being a Green Lantern wasn't free.

I'm only a thirteen year-old girl who just wants to get through puberty and graduate high school.

Isn't that enough?

I guess not, because they said we were leaving for the planet Oa in three days.

My long brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail hit my face as I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Fortunately, a certain blonde was standing on the sidelines of a fight. M'gann and I walked over to Artemis. She turned at our arrival, smiling at us.

In the middle of the room, a short ebony stood; knees bent, arms raised slightly in defense, and a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. Around him was just a blur of colors. The blur gradually got faster and faster, the wind picking up making our hair fly. With the flick of the ebony's wrist, the blur slowed dramatically allowing us to see the redhead. His fuzzy outline dodged a section of the floor, laughing.

"Ha! You really think some _marbles_ are going to stop me? Dude, I'm a speed-."

He was quickly cut off by his friend. The bird's metal bō staff slammed into the speedster's chest, taking the breath from his lungs and knocking him flat on his back. In a second with speed rivaling his friend's, Robin landed on Wally's stomach, his jō staff point down on his chest. The bird grinned down at him before standing and helping speedster up.

Artemis frowned, her arms crossed and her voice low. "Is it just me, or did Wally seem slow right there?"

"Is it just me, or did Robin seem hot right there?"

I realized I had said that out loud a second too late. The two girls were staring at me, making me flush. They burst into laughter catching the boys' attention. I slapped my forehead as they started over. Crap.

"What's so funny?" Wally asked. He had his arm draped over his best friend's shoulders. "You're not laughing at me, are you? Because that was the first time-!"

"They're not laughing at you, Kid Moron." I groaned, glancing up at them.

Robin cackled. "They're laughing at Page, but why?"

"Oh, no reason." I waved them off, flashing a grin. The two girls didn't make it any better, what with their smirking and knowing stares. I shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable in the silence. "So, Wally, nice fall there. That took some talent."

Wally narrowed his eyes then pointed with two fingers at him and then at me. He sighed when Artemis made some sarcastic comment. As they quipped back and forth, I walked into the living area of the Mountain. I jumped onto the couch, laying down, lacing my fingers behind my head. A sigh of satisfaction escaped my lips as I closed my eyes. The bliss was short-lived, though, when there was a sharp pressure on my stomach and ribs. My eyes shot open, my breath coming in short.

"What the hell, Robin?!" I smacked his arm wrapped around his stomach as he cackled. "Get off me! I have a bruised rib, you know!"

He leaned down, grinning from ear to ear, his sunglasses reflecting my frustrated face back at me. "Come on, like you even care." His grin widened when I narrowed my eyes. "I mean, after you basically-."

I growled low in my throat, shifting on the couch so that Robin fell in between me and the cushions, no longer crushing my ribs. His eyebrows rose in surprise. I sighed, moving his legs slightly so they weren't directly on my ribs, then closed my eyes again, content for the moment.

"Sorry."

I cracked my eyes open, glancing up at the bird. My eyes shot completely open a second later. Robin was staring straight ahead, probably at the television playing some random documentary. He left his eyes visible to me. Well, not really the whole eye, and not really both of them. Just the one. It was only the corner because of his cheek bones and nose. His eyes were turned up slightly at the corners, and his eyelashes were the longest things I've ever seen, giving way to a more European background. He looked down at me. As he turned, there was a flash of blue that I would recognize anywhere.

"_Uncle Hal, do we really have to go to Gotham? I mean, really?" The young brunette girl crossed her arms defiantly as she pouted. Her uncle just sighed, tired of the listening to her excuses for the past two hours. "So I'm a hero. So what? It's not like I'm the only superhero who's a kid. Plus, I'm _thirteen_, almost fourteen."_

"_Yes, but you are the only superhero who's a kid who's my niece." _

_He stopped just above the roof of a building in the dark city. The green platform the masked girl was sitting on disappeared, leaving the girl to drop. Her feet hit with a nearly silent thump. Her uncle floated down in front of her, crossing his arms. The glow around him faded as he frowned down at the short girl. She frowned back, glaring behind her mask._

"_I just want to make sure you're completely healed from that head injury last week." The man put up his hands in defense before the girl even so much as took in a breath. "And I know, I know; you've been doing this for a year and a half now. But, Page, I just want to make sure you're safe."_

_The girl let out a sigh, dropping her hands to her sides. How could she argue with that logic? He was her uncle. He was only looking out for her. She should be glad._

"_Alright, but if I don't like it, I'm leaving." _

_Behind her mask, the girl lifted one eyebrow, her mask lifting slightly with the motion. Her uncle spun around and came face to face with a cowl. The Dark Knight stood in the shadows, his black cape closed around him added to the affect. A second later, the girl jumped a foot in the air, her voice echoing as she shrieked from a pressure on her shoulder. It was followed by a clearly amused cackling. She spun around, breathing hard. Standing in front of her was a young boy. He was around her age with dark ebony hair and a mask to match. His black cape with a yellow underbelly was opened, falling over his elbows as he held his stomach. The girl glared at him, glancing down at his red and black costume, stopping on the _"R"_ emblem on the left side of his chest._

"_Robin." She hissed through gritted teeth. The boy grinned at her, finally containing his laughter._

"_Hello, Ouzel." He set his hands on his hips. "A little jumpy, huh? Shouldn't you be used to this by now?"_

_The girl intensified her glare despite the mask. "Well, sor-_ree_ for being normal and actually liking people greeting me _in front of me_." The ebony didn't seem fazed in the least. Instead, he shrugged as his mentor started speaking._

"_I take it, you're back for a scan." The bat turned, walking to the edge of the building. "Very well. Another scan for the Lantern." _

_Even the girl could pick out the sarcasm in the older man's voice. She sighed as her vision was blocked by a blindfold. Robin shrugged at the annoyed expression on the Green Lantern's face. He put his fist out. A glow erupted from his ring, creating another platform under the young birds' feet. They flew behind the bat as he swung through the air. A few minutes later, the girl sighed in relief of the blindfold being untied. _

_When her vision returned, she looked around the damp cave, taking in the all too familiar sight. Her eyes came to rest on her uncle standing next to Batman a little ways into the cave. The bat was turned toward an MRI machine normally found in hospitals. She wasn't exactly sure as to how he had one of his own, but she wasn't about to ask. Sighing, the girl looked down and pulled her mask off, followed by her gloves and belt. She was used to the routine by now, this being her fourth visit to the bat-cave. The brunette set her equipment on the table then stripped off her armored jumpsuit, leaving her in her shorts and tank top. _

"_When will I not have to do this anymore?" She mumbled, running a hand through her now messy brown hair._

"_Not sure." She spun around at the boy's voice, not nearly as frightened as she was the first time. The ebony had his arms crossed and his head turned to the two adults. "But something's up." He looked back at the girl, a frown on his face. "Everyone knows GL and Bats aren't particularly fond of each other."_

"_Yeah…" The girl glanced down. "This is the fourth MRI. At this point, I'm not sure if I want to know what's wrong with me." _

"_Don't worry; I'm sure it's nothing serious." _

_Even with the comforting smile, the girl still had a frown on her face as she laid down on the hard metal, the machine whirring as it scanned her. After the test, the older men walked deeper into the cave. The girl walked back over to the table where the ebony hadn't moved. He frowned as she gripped one of her gloves tightly before she threw it back down on the table. She spun around, her hands landing on her forehead as she bent slightly. The bird took a step forward._

_ "Hey, it's alright." When she didn't respond, he continued, placing a hand on her back, but immediately jumped away, flipping onto the table as she swung around on the ground, her leg out intending to knock him down. He slowly stood. "What are you doing?"_

_ "What's it look like?" She spat the words with distaste. "I'm a little frustrated right now. I figured you wanted to help." _

_ The girl quickly struck out, but the boy was fast too. He easily flipped over her, setting a hand on her shoulder for support. Intending this, the girl reached up and grabbed his wrist, twisting him around with her. His feet slammed into the ground because of the jerky motion of being turned around in mid-air. But that didn't last long. The boy was on the flat on the ground in a second, the girl straddling his waist. One hand still gripping his, her other shot out, nails scrapping at the spirit glue holding the mask in place, she ripped it from his face. The boy's blue eyes were wide with surprise that quickly turned into panic when he realized he was exposed._

_ "Finally." Sighing, the girl lifted the mask, examining the material, the other hand running through her hair. "That's been bugging me forever."_

_ "Page." She looked down, brown eyes now meeting a deep blue instead of the normal white lenses. "Please give me back my mask." The girl tilted her head to the side as she stared down at her friend's soft features._

_ "Why would I do that? You'll just put it on, and I'll never get to see your eyes again that way." A smile tugged the corners of the girl's mouth at the boy's frown. "Oh, come on, Robin. I know you don't like the fact that you have to hide your identity from everyone all the time, and I get that you have KF." She rolled her eyes as she stood and helped the bird up. "Please, like you would keep that from your 'best bro'. Seriously, Rob, I won't tell anyone. I promise."_

_ The boy sighed, rubbing his eyes with his palms. "It's not that I don't trust you, Page." He moved his hands up, running over his hair before he looked tensely up at her. "It's a matter of safety."_

_ "I don't get it." She crossed her arms. The mask still held tightly in her hand was being followed by blue eyes. "Coast City isn't as dangerous as Gotham, and I'm rarely in Gotham, so what does it matter? Plus, it's not like anyone is going to know I know who you are. Which, in fact, I really don't seeing as I live in Coast City, so I have no idea what's going on in Gotham."_

_ "Page, what the hell are you doing?" _

_ They both turned at the older voice. The girl's uncle was walking over to them, the bat-cowled Knight glaring fiercely at the girl. The two kids looked at each other in a panic-stricken moment before turning back to their elders. The girl took a deep breath._

_ "In fact, Uncle, I am talking to my friend." She took a step toward them as they stopped a few feet away. "I forced his mask off, and I don't regret a thing." She stated proudly, looking the bat directly in the narrowed white lenses of his cowl. "Now, tell me exactly why I've had to come back here and get MRI's four times."_

_ Her uncle raised his eyebrows, taken aback, but it was the Dark Knight who responded. "You've had a pre-existing condition since you were eight from a drastic fall. With each injury, the aneurysm has grown in size. But with its current size it should have no effect to your brain whatsoever. It is currently doing no harm and shouldn't for years."_

_ By the end of the explanation, both the girl's and the boy's eyes were wide with shock. The girl snapped her mouth shut, taking a deep breath and looking down to the ground. Seeing the mask, she held it up, her eyes roaming over the black material. She looked back up at the older men. Her uncle was looking down at the ground, his expression unreadable as he clenched his fists._

_ "Oh, is that all?" The girl simply shrugged at them, tossing the mask over her shoulder. The boy quickly grabbed it. "It's not like this is going to change anything. I'm still going to continue to be Ouzel. Even if you take my mask away, I'll still find another one. We kids are quite persistent like that."_

_ "Like hell you are-."_

_ "Save it." Her uncle's expression hardened at her harsh tone and intense glare. The girl continued. "I'm doing this, Uncle Hal, and there's no way you can stop me. What if you had an aneurysm, and I just took your ring from you, claiming that you were forbidden from saving the freaking world? I doubt you'd listen to me. I'm just like you, so don't you dare think I would react any differently."_

_ After minutes of silence, the boy cleared his throat. All eyes turned to him. "Why doesn't she just join the team? That way she can still be a hero, and then she won't be in nearly as much danger because she'll have teammates who have her back."_

"Black bird?"

I snapped back at Robin's voice. He wasn't sitting on me anymore. I guess somewhere between the time that I blacked out and came to, he had moved to the floor next to me, kneeling in front of the couch. He had his hand lightly touching my forehead, checking for a fever. I took a deep breath, shifting slowly into a sitting position. Robin quickly jumped up, sitting next to me.

"Are you okay? You just kinda froze on me, you know?" He stopped and took a slow breath. When he spoke, his voice was low despite the fact that we were alone in the room. "Is everything copasetic," he gently set his fingers to my temple, his eyebrows creased in worry, "in here?"

"What?" It took me a second to remember that he was asking about my brain. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Sorry, I was just thinking of something." I smiled at him, taking his hand and pulling it away from my face. "You're too paranoid, Rob."

He frowned. "Some would think I'm not paranoid enough, being Batman's partner and all. But seriously, Page." He leaned forward, tipping his head down slightly so I could see over his glasses. I swallowed at the intensity of his blue eyes. "If you're not feeling well, you can tell me. You know I care about you. You're my black bird."

"I know." I closed my eyes, leaning my forehead against his, lightly squeezing his hand still in mine. "I'm fine. I promise, Dickie-bird. I would never lie to you." I could feel him take a short breath before sighing. He nodded slightly, trying to avoid putting any pressure on my head yet not lifting his forehead away.

"As long as you promise."

"I promise."

"Good." He tipped his head up slightly, touching our noses before he spoke again. "I need you here to tell me how hot I am when I beat Wally in sparring."

I jerked back. My brown eyes were huge as I stared open-mouthed at him cackling. When he stopped, he grinned at my expression. I gripped his hand hard as I clenched my jaw, sucking in a sharp breath, which incidentally made my ribs hurt. My voice was dangerously low.

"_Richard_."

"What?" He turned his hand, slipping it out of mine and running it lightly over my arm. "I don't mind. In fact, I quite like the fact that you find me hot, because I find you very attractive."

"You- What?" I took a nervous breath as I felt his on my cheek. He was inching closer to me, and to my surprise, I wasn't moving back.

"I like you, Page. More than I probably should." He shook his head slightly making his glasses slide down his nose so I could see his deep blue eyes. "And I'm not going to just sit back anymore, because knowing you, you'll just do something stupid and get yourself hit over the head one too many times."

"Hey."

"Oh, please. You know it's true."

Robin lifted his hand to my face, gently sliding it across my cheek then around to hold the back of my neck. I sucked in a sharp breath, and then I swear my hands moved on their own. I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him against me, catching him by surprise as I slammed our lips together. He smoothly recovered, responding to my urgency. Taking a deep breath, Robin tilted his head down, his lips leaving mine making me open my eyes and realize what I had done. My mouth dropped a stitch as we looked at each other.

"That really just happened." My voice came out in a whisper, my lips barely moving. Robin nodded.

"Yup."

"Did, uh, I mean, were you going to, um…" I swallowed the lump in my throat, furrowing my eyebrows.

"What do you think?" He set a light hand under my chin, tipping my head up and smirking at my short breath. "Of course I was going to kiss you. I'm amazed I lasted this long."

"Oh, I am too."

We both jumped apart, flushing as Wally walked over. He bent at the waist, leaning on the back of the couch between us, a huge grin spread across his face. His big green eyes flashed with amusement.

"Sooo, does anyone want to clue a guy in here?"

Robin opened his mouth as I sputtered, whipping my head back and forth. "I didn't- I mean- No, I- We just-."

"Come ooooon, you guys." Wally gripped the cushion, leaning back on his heels. "Are you seriously trying to deny the fact that I caught you guys kissing?"

"No, see, that's not it at all." They both looked at me, my doe eyes reminiscent of when I was a child. "See, we _were_…kissing, b-but, I mean-."

"Wait, so are you saying you're _not_ together?"

"No, we are." Robin said firmly. He nodded, looking directly at me. "Right?"

This week was seriously intense. I mean, first I get smacked on the back of the head with a pipe, next I find out who's behind Robin's mask, then I'm told I've had an aneurysm since I was eight, the first mission I go on, my uncle, only sane family I have left, explodes our city killing half the population, I wind up with a bruised rib plus a killer headache, and Wally catches me kissing Robin. I ran a hand through my hair then rubbed my forehead. How much stress can this life give me?

"You wanna…be…Robin, you uh." At a loss for words, I just let my head nod, taking in a breath when he smiled. "Yeah. Together."

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**Aaand, that's all she wrote!**

**For now. Although, I'm not entirely sure when I'm going to update again...sorry, guys...**

**It's getting to more of a storyline, I think, and I hope my writing didn't just completely fall flat on this one. I've been working on it. Any questions, comments, concerns, jokes, or riddles are always welcome!**


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